Gps Coordinates / 25.9842975,-97.1875041
SpaceX Starbase Boca Chica 2019 To 2021 VR Space Port
52253 TX-4, Brownsville, TX 78521, USA
This once rundown Boca Chica village in rural Texas belongs to Elons SpaceX, Starbase Stargate project, a once rural dilapidated village has now become the epicenter base of the worlds most eccentric space entrepreneur billionaire soon to be trillionaire whos changing the planet from this quaint village as his launching stage in Brownsville Texas
Gps Coordinates / 25.9861164,-97.1895575
The launch site was originally intended to support launches of the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launch vehicles as well as "a variety of reusable suborbital launch vehicles", but in early 2018, SpaceX announced a change of plans, stating that the launch site would be used exclusively for SpaceX's next-generation launch vehicle, Starship. Between 2018 and 2020, the site added significant rocket production and test capacity. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk indicated in 2014 that he expected "commercial astronauts, private astronauts, to be departing from South Texas," and he foresaw launching spacecraft to Mars from the site.
Road entrance to Boca Chica Starbase Aug 2021
Link Location Gps / Gps Link -97.1878709 / Gps Link -97.1886785 / Gps Link -97.1895844
Gps Coordinates / 25.9845377,-97.1878709 / 25.9852475,-97.1886785 / 25.9859788,-97.1895844
The launch site was originally intended to support launches of the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launch vehicles as well as "a variety of reusable suborbital launch vehicles", but in early 2018, SpaceX announced a change of plans, stating that the launch site would be used exclusively for SpaceX's next-generation launch vehicle, Starship. Between 2018 and 2020, the site added significant rocket production and test capacity. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk indicated in 2014 that he expected "commercial astronauts, private astronauts, to be departing from South Texas," and he foresaw launching spacecraft to Mars from the site.
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Beach Coast View
Gps Coordinates / 25.9833191,-97.1915723
Between 2012 and 2014, SpaceX considered seven potential locations around the United States for the new commercial launch facility. Generally, for orbital launches an ideal site would have an easterly water overflight path for safety and be located as close to the equator as possible in order to take advantage of the Earth's rotational speed. For much of this period, a parcel of land adjacent to Boca Chica Beach near Brownsville, Texas, was the leading candidate location, during an extended period while the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) conducted an extensive environmental assessment on the use of the Texas location as a launch site.
Scenes from the approaching beach and approaching Boca Chica Village
Link Location Gps / Gps Link -97.1916301 / Gps Link -97.1857211 / Gps Link -97.1849025
Gps Coordinates / 25.9813201,-97.1916301 / 25.9869751,-97.1857211 / 25.989579,-97.1849025
Also during this period, SpaceX began acquiring land in the area, purchasing approximately 41 acres and leasing 57 acres by July 2014. SpaceX announced in August 2014, that they had selected the location near Brownsville as the location for the new non-governmental launch site, after the final environmental assessment completed and environmental agreements were in place by July 2014.An orbital launch of the Starship would make it SpaceX's fourth active launch facility, following three launch locations that are leased from the US government.
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SpaceX Village
Boca Chica Village engineer campsite
Gps Coordinates / 25.9898748,-97.184664
SpaceX conducted a groundbreaking ceremony on the new launch facility in September 2014, and soil preparation began in October 2015. The first tracking antenna was installed in August 2016, and the first propellant tank arrived in July 2018. In late 2018, construction ramped up considerably, and the site saw the fabrication of the first 30 ft prototype test vehicle, Starhopper, which was tested and flown March–August 2019. Through 2021, additional prototype flight vehicles are being built at the facility for higher-altitude tests. By March 2020, there were over 500 people employed at the facility, with most of the workforce involved in 24/7 production operations for the third-generation SpaceX launch vehicle, Starship.
The Village Boca Chica once occupied by regular home owners
Link Location Gps / Gps Link -97.1836098 / Gps Link -97.1827476 / Gps Link -97.1820865
Gps Coordinates / 25.9912382,-97.1836098 / 25.9923677,-97.1827476 / 25.9933267,-97.1820865
Major site construction at SpaceX's launch site in Boca Chica got underway in 2016, with site soil preparation for the launch pad in a process said to take two years, with significant additional soil work and significant construction beginning in late 2018. By September 2019, the site had been "transformed into an operational launch site – outfitted with the ground support equipment needed to support test flights of the methane-fueled Starship vehicles." Lighter construction of fencing and temporary buildings in the control center area had begun in 2014.
Communication Living Quarters
Gps Coordinates / 25.9895146,-97.1838099
Two 30 ft S-band tracking station antennas were installed at the site in 2016–2017. They were formerly used to track the Space Shuttle during launch and landing and made operational as tracking resources for crewed Dragon missions in 2018. A SpaceX-owned 6.5-acre photovoltaic power station was installed on site to provide off-grid electrical power near the control center. The solar farm was installed by SolarCity in January 2018.
Communication listener watch towers complete with standing watch towers
Link Location Gps / Gps Link -97.183379 / Gps Link -97.1826274 / Gps Link -10.4628324
Gps Coordinates / 25.9901211,-97.183379 / 25.9911117,-97.1826274 / 25.9925259,-97.1815128
Progress on building the pad had slowed considerably through 2017, much slower than either SpaceX or Texas state officials had expected when it was announced in 2014. Support for SpaceX, however, remained fairly strong amongst Texas public officials. In January 2018, COO Shotwell said the pad might be used for "early vehicle testing" by late 2018 or early 2019 but that additional work would be required after that to make it into a full launch site. SpaceX achieved this new target, with prototype rocket and rocket engine ground testing at Boca Chica starting in March 2019, and suborbital flight tests starting in July 2019.
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Now Entering Boca Chica
Gps Coordinates / 25.9916337,-97.179705
The new launch facility was projected in a 2014 study to generate US$85 million of economic activity in the city of Brownsville and eventually generate approximately US$51 million in annual salaries from some 500 jobs projected to be created by 2024.
Main Road impressive tourist route passby on Highway 4
Link Location Gps / Gps Link -97.1818006 / Gps Link -97.183408 / Gps Link -97.1861413
Gps Coordinates / 25.9905151,-97.1818006 / 25.9885064,-97.183408 / 25.9855254,-97.1861413
The launch facility was approved to be constructed two miles from approximately thirty homes, with no indication that this would cause problems for the homeowners. Five years later in 2019, following an FAA revaluation of the environmental impact and the issuance of new FAA requirements that residents be asked to voluntarily stay outside their houses during particular tanking and engine ignition tests, SpaceX decided that a couple dozen of these homes were now too close to the launch facility over the long term and began seeking market acquisition of these properties. An attorney with expertise on such situations referred to the timeframe given by SpaceX for homeowners to consider their purchase offer as "aggressive".
Boca Chica Village welcomes you adjacent to Brownsville Main Road
Gps Coordinates / 25.9918121,-97.1795951
The Brownsville Economic Development Council (BEDC) was building a space tracking facility in Boca Chica Village on a 2.3-acre site adjacent to the SpaceX launch control center. The STARGATE tracking facility is a joint project of the BEDC, SpaceX, and the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, formerly the University of Texas at Brownsville at the time the agreement was reached.
Before & After 2021 SpaceX
Gps Coordinates / 25.9868513,-97.1847447
BEFORE - APR 2011
Gps Coordinates / 25.9842703,-97.1876048
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AFTER - Aug 2019
Gps Coordinates / 25.9868696,-97.1847545
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BEFORE - JUN 2019
Gps Coordinates / 25.9842247,-97.1875738
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AFTER - Aug 2021
Gps Coordinates / 25.9842287,-97.1875791
